Tile-like element



April 1936, F. w. YEAGER 2,037,297

TILE LIKE ELEMENT Filed Jan. 5, 1951 INVENTOR FRANK W. YEAGER v BY ' ATTORNE Patented Apr. 14, 1 936 UNITED STATES PATENT OF FiCE Frank W. Yeager, Cliffs'ide Park, N. 1., asslgnor to The Barrett Company, New York, N. Y., a cor- Application January 3, 1931, Serial No.'-506,467

4 Claims.

cement shingles and as distinguished from the well-known flexible felt shingles heretofore emplayed in the formation of roof surfaces.

One object of this invention is to provide a rigid comparativelylight waterproof roofing element of artistic appearance which may be used in place of tiles and cement asbestos shingle elements and may be laid on roof decks comprising spaced laths in the same manner as tile, cement and other rigid shingles are applied thereto.

' Another object is to provide a'rigid composition roofing element of general wavy shape, the elementha'ving as its base a core of annual vegetable crop fibers alone or admixed with suitv able fillers such as paper stock, rag stock, mineral fibers, etc., the sheet containing a major proportion of annual vegetable crop fibers or othercoarse fibers so that it is porous and absorbent and therefore may be molded or otherwise formed into the desired shape and saturated and coated with bituminous material such as asphalt or pitch to produce a comparatively light, rigid roofing element of artistic appearance,

I A further object of the invention is to provide a process for the manufacture of rigid composition roofing elements having" a fibrous base in the shape of the well-known, Spanish tiles. Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description.

Composition shingles have heretofore been made by forming a, thin sheet of felt consisting largely of-.finely beaten rag stock in a paper- "known felt roofinghas not been and cannot be.

laid on roof decks consisting of spaced laths in the manner that wood, tile and other rigid shingle elements are applied for the reason that the felt shingles would sag between the points of support. v

Such composition shingles have also been formed in the shape of curved tiles, as indicated in United States Patent No. 1,158,268. In laying these flexible felt tile-shaped elements, it

has been found necessary to provide supports for the curved portions of the element disposed above the roof deck between the ribs of the element which rest on the deck. If the curved portions of these flexible felt elements were left unsupported they would soon sag, deleteriously affecting the weathering properties of the roof and resulting in a covering of unsightly appearance.

The well-known Spanish tiles and cement shingles have the serious objection that they are expensive to manufacture and that because of their increased weight as compared with felt shingles, they require a rugged supporting surface.. Consequently, these rigid tiles have not found application in connection with the covering of inexpensive dwellings but have been used in the building of comparatively costly homes only.

I have discovered that an inexpensive light,

rigid, curved shingle element may .be produced.

by molding or otherwise shaping the fibrous material base disclosed in' the copending application of Charles S. Reeve, Serial No. 506,425 filed even date herewith. As pointed out in this co-pending application, the base is preferably composed of coarse fibrous material such as annual vegetable crop' fibers, for example com-stalks, cotton-, stalks, straw, flax, bagasse or sugar cane alone stock, rag stock, asbestos, or other mineral fibers which may be incorporated with the coarse fibers to give the desired characteristics to the sheet or core forming the base of the shingle element. In accordance with this invention, the surface of the base is formed in the curved or angular or admixed with suitable fillers such as paper,

shape that it is desired to impart to the ultimate shingle element. This may be accomplished by feeding the fibrous furnish to molds or by forming the base on a wire screen of the type used in paper-making but which is designed to form a comparatively thick sheet of the desired'shape and contour. Preferably, the core ismade at least 35 inch thick and may be from A to 3 inch thick. The core is dried and then saturated with waterproofing material such as asphalt, preferably ,under vacuum, until the air spaces and voids therein are substantially filled with bituminous material.

A coating of waterproof bitumen may then be applied tonne or both faces of the saturated base to form the shingle element. If desired, ,granular material ofone or more,co1ors, such. as 001- ored slate, may be applied to and embedded into the coating. Before or after the surfacing with the granular material the coated sheet may be cut into individual or stripshingl'es. A rigid, waterproof and weatherproof comparatively light and inexpensive shingle element of wavy or angular shape in cross-section which is substantially fireproof is thus produced.

' the saturated base.

of shingle element;

Fig. 4 is a-sectional view of a shingle element.

on an enlarged scale taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional viewon an enlarged scale taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing, 6

indicates the base or core prepared from 'any of the above mentioned fibers as hereinafter more fully pointed out. The base 5 is molded or formed on a. wire screen into any desired shape. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, the base is formed in the shape of an individual rectangular shingle which in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 4, has the major portion 1 of concavo-convex shape, viewing the shingle from the base portion thereof. .The edge portion 8 of'this shingleis of convexo-concave .shape as indicated by reference numeral 9. The embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 5 isformed with two concavoconvex portions I l and I2, the former occurring near the left transverse edge of the shingle, viewing Fig. 5, and the latter intermediate the transverse edges. Between portions. H and I2, the convexo-concave portion I3 is formed and the right edge I4 of the strip is also of convexo-concave shape.

After-the fibrous material base has been molded into the desired shape, it is then saturated and preferably also coated with waterproof bituminous material such as asphalt. bitumen may be applied to the under surface of other granular material may then be dusted or otherwise applied to the coating l5 to provide the shingle element with a non-adhering rear surface. The face-of the shingle may also be coated with bituminous material [6 arid then surfaced with granular material H, which may be of a single or variegated hue. The granular material may be applied to form designs on the exposed surface of the roofing. Instead of applying mineral'material in the form of design configurations, the designs maybe painted on the granular facing or the facing of granular material may be eliminated and designs painted or embossed on the bituminous coating.

Onemanner of laying the shingles of Fig. 2 on a roof deck is shown in Fig. 1. The individual shingles 2| are placed on the supporting laths 22 spacedapproximately 6 inches apart so that the transverse edges of the shingles only rest 'on the laths and the intermediate concavo-convex portion 1 is free and unsupported. They are arranged in courses with the transverse edges of the shingles in the same course overlapping and the lower edges of the shingles of one course overlapping the shingles of the subjacent course.

' Nails or other fasteners 23 may be used to secure the corner portions of the shingles to the laths 22-, the overlapping shingle elements preferably A thin coating l5 of Powdered mica or talc or that it is sufii'cient to support the weight of a person walking over the roof surface without any deformation occurring in the elements. Due to the relatively thick edges of the shingles and their curved or angular shape an artistic-and highly pleasing appearance'is imparted to the roof, the eifect of the shingle elements being comparable to the roofs produced by the com paratively expensive Spanish tiles or cement shingles oi the shape disclosed in the drawing.

The base 6 may be made from annual vegetable-crop fibers alone or admixed with suitable fibrous or inert fillers. .Furnishes which might be used for forming the base, as more fully dis closed in the co-pending application of Charles S. Reeve, are as followsi (a) 70% straw-fiber admixed with 30% paper stock, 1 (-b) 70% corn-stalk fibers admixed with 30% paperstock, a w

(0) 75% cotton-stalk fibers admixed with 25% paper stock, a 1 I (a) 67% corn-stalk fibers admixed with 33% paper stock.

The invention herein it will be understood is not confined to a base made from the furnish above indicated but comprehends as the base element a relatively coarse and absorbent sheet of fibrous material of sufficient thickness to be inherently rigid and which may be formed from annual vegetable'crop fibers alone or admixed with vegetableor mineral fillers. Ifthe furnish, which may consist of coarse fibers of only one type or a mixture of such fibers, or one or more coarse fibers admixed with vegetable or mineral fibrous fillers, is such that too porous a base results the porosity may be reduced by adding'to the furnish paper or rag stock to lessen the voids or air spaces in the base.

shingle preferably have a rigidity number of at' least approximately 30. The rigidity number is determined by ascertaining'one one-hundredth of the weight necessary to produce a deflection of-oneinch in a test piece-of material-two inches wide and one eighth inch thick supported on its flat surface by parallel knife edges 12 inches apart, the .weight being applied at the rate of 3200 grams per minute to the test piece substantially midway of thesupports.

Rigidity numbers for fibrous board bases which are suitable for the manufacture of my improved shingle, tested as indicated above, are as 01- The above numbers compare with rigidity numbers of 9 or 10. obtained by testing a prepared lows: I

Thickness Rigidity Type bfmrd of board number i v 1M]! 8; 83 70% straw and 30% paper l Ground wood pulp board, known commercially as Insulite (B).. 184 44 Compressed wood fiber (soft) board known commercially as Masonite t (B).'. 187 46 Compressed wood fiber board known commercially as Masonite-Hard q (AL. 127' 50 Bagasso (sugar cane) board, known commercially as Colotex (B) 225 53 Compressed wood fiber (hard) board known commercially as Masonite Hard (B) 144 The following is given as an illustrative embodiment of this invention.

A vegetable fiber and rag paper furnish is prepared in the usual manner with the customary roofing iclt mill equipment to produce a stock of suitable concentration. Into this stockare dipped forms, as for example wire-covered forms provided with pipe connections, in such fashion as to permit applying suction to the interiors of the forms. Each form is constructed so that one side conforms to the shape and contour desired in the finished tile and is covered by the wire screen. When suction is applied tothe form, a layer of fiber is drawn onto the wire-covered forms. The forms are passed through the stock to permit the layer of fiber to build up to. a thickness of A; to inch whereupon the forms are withdrawn from the fiber stock and transformed to a drying oven, suction still being applied. The moisture is rapidly removed from the layer of fiber by this means and the fibers set in conformity with the contour of, the wire form which is that desired in the finished tile. The dried fibrous structure or core made in the manner above indicated is sufficiently rigid to retain its form in subsequent operations and determines.

therefore the shape and contour of the finished tile. The thickness of the finished tile will be somewhat greater than that of the core due to the saturant and coating applied to the core.

After drying the core or base is removed from the forms and stacked with others in cages to be conveyed to the saturating tanks where the stack is immersed in a bituminous saturant, such as asphalt, rendered fluid by heat. By using a high melting point saturant the rigidity of the product is increased somewhat. An asphalt having a softening point of from 160 F. to 220 F. may be used as the saturant. Preferably, the saturation is accomplished under vacuum, thus more quickly and thoroughly saturating the relatively'thick cores.

The saturated cores are removed from the saturating tank, drained and then coated with bituminous material such as asphalt. This coating is preferably applied to the core by a dipping process. A surfacing of mica, talc, slate granules, slag, metallic foil, etc., or other wear-resisting particles may be imparted as above indicated to thebituminous coating to provide a wearing surface. The surfacing may be accomplished by passing the saturated and coated core through pressure rolls when the form of the core permits,

or by pressing the cores between suitably shaped patterns in a press. The finished shingle elements are then stacked or packed for marketing.

Due to the thickness and inherent rigidity of the cores the convolutions, corrugations, or other decorative effects in the shingle elements are fixed and permanent and no external reinforcement of the element to maintain its form while in use on a roof deck is necessary. It has been found that the shingle element of this inventlon may be laid in place without making any special provisions for its stability and that the element as laid in the manner indicated in Fig. 1 retains its shape and forms an efficient roof covering.

,Further, the shingle elementsare relatively light and have a' specific gravity of approximately 1.0. This compares with the specific gravities of 2.5

and higherof cement shingles and tiles. In view of the lightness of the shingle the roof deck need not be of the rugged type necessary for cement shingles and consequently an economy in the roof structure is effected not only by the reduced cost of the shingle per se but also by the decreased cost of the support for the shingles. Also the composition shingle elements are good heat insulators and allow less heat to pass through the roof in either direction than clay or cement tiles.

For convenience in defining the invention herein the term curved or angular tile-like is used in the claims to refer to a particular shaped shingle, one in which thesurface of the element in cross-section is of sinuous or curved shape or serrated, i. e., angular shape and as distinguished from the usual fiat shingle.

Since modification in the details of the shingle or the carrying out of the process of making such shingles might be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention herein, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A shingle composed of a porous base consisting of a major portion of partially beaten annual vegetable .crop fibers, said fibers being materially coarser than the fibers constituting flexible roofing felt, which latter consists substantially entirely of finely beaten rag fibers, and a minor proportion of paper stock, formed into a sheet of curved or angular tile-like shape of a thickness of at least so that the base is uniformly rigid, said base being impregnated with waterproofing material to render it-substantially' coarse fibers matted together to form a curved or angular base of a thickness of at least A; inch,

said fibers forming relatively large. voids in said base, said base being impregnated with waterproofing material to render it substantially waterproof, the rigidity of said shingle being such that it is self -sustaining whensupported only at points near its edges.

4. A process for the production of a curved or angular tile-like rigid waterproof shingle which comprises partially beating annual vegetable crop fibrous material to form coarse fibers, forming said fibers into a curved or anguiar tile shaped base having relatively large voids therein, drying the base, the coarse fibers rendering said base sufliciently rigid so that it is self-sustaining when supported only at points near its edges, and imtpregnating said base with waterproofing ma- 'eria FRANK W. YEAGER. 

